History as an Art Legacy Adiluhung
Ditulis pada: November 08, 2021
We are certainly no stranger to the subjects of History that we usually learn from elementary to high school, have we ever thought that history as art is a noble heritage from our nation's ancestors? Most of us are often lazy to study history because we have to memorize the dates.
Apart from all that, history as art has an extraordinary function in the development of our art. But unfortunately, many forget the history of this nation so that the arts that are attached to it gradually fade away. In fact, the beauty of art and culture can be seen from the historical relics that exist.
History as heritage art is precious because there are elements that make the reader interested in seeing it. Therefore, the art offered in history usually contains the following characteristics.
First, intuition, which is a direct understanding of the object, in this case, for example, if you want to research, you must place yourself as an artist. The second characteristic, in the form of imagination, where the reader imagines what events have actually happened and there is Borobudur, then we will get a story about the Ramayana. If there is no imagination, an event may have difficulty absorbing its meaning.
In addition to intuition and images that support a history as art, the next or third characteristic is emotion. The reader here should be directly involved in terms of feeling as if experiencing the events that have occurred, so that there is a unification of objects and feelings.
The fourth characteristic is language style. This concerns old manuscripts which may use ancient Javanese and Sanskrit writings. Although the writing may not be widely read by the younger generation, if one examines closely the meaning of the writing is clear and firm so that it is easy for readers to understand.
History as Art - Temples are both History and Art
The carvings or carvings in the Borobudur temple tell a lot about the Ramayana story from Buddhism, while the carvings from Prambanan Temple are a story about the heyday of Hinduism.
Borobudur and Prambanan Temples are both history and art because they have attracted so many history readers to be interested in exploring historical information about events that occurred in the past.
That's because the events that happened in the past are both beauty and information that needs to be revealed. We can get events or events that existed in the past by looking at the carvings and statues that are usually around the temple.
My experience when I saw a sculptor in the Mojokerto area, which is known as a place for buying and selling statues, was in fact very difficult and took a long time. Especially in ancient times, of course, there was no better tool than the times used to sculpt.
You can't imagine how difficult it was to carve Borobudur and Prambanan temples at that time. That's why historical heritage is said to be a noble heritage art, not just anyone who can sculpt that much.
History as Art - Some Examples of Unique Temples
History as art is really proven by the existence of these temples. Some even have no relief but still have beauty. The following is a list of these unique temples.
1. Some Examples of Unique Temples - Sukuh Temple Located in the Karanganyar Area, Solo
This temple has a trapezoid shape similar to a building from the Mayans. Sukuh Temple is a relic of Javanese Hinduism. The thing that distinguishes this temple from other temples is that the carvings and statues of this temple seem a bit pornographic or erotic.
For example, in this temple there is a headless statue holding its genitals, a human statue with a bird's head that resembles the Sumerian nation, and a horizontal stone floor in the form of a penis and vagina sticking together.
Buildings that resemble phallus and yoni are also found in this temple. Judging from the existence of the phallus and yoni which are symbols of fertility, it can be concluded that the Sukuh Temple tells a journey of human life.
Where when humans are born there are only two traits that will be attached to that person, namely good or bad. There are only two choices, whichever will be more dominant in the person's life journey.
2. Some Examples of Unique Temples - Simping Temple
This temple may be a bit foreign to our ears, but for the people in Kademangan Village, Blitar Regency, East Java, of course it is familiar.
The reliefs contained in this temple are also inseparable from the elements of the phallus and yoni as a symbol of fertility. The thing that distinguishes it is that there are many reliefs of animal images such as turtles, wild boars, ponies, and even reliefs of flowers and vines.
The Simping Temple building is famous for being unique because it is composed of various types of stones, to be precise andesite and bricks. The proof is that the ruins of this temple have holes, but can still be glued together even though there is no cement mixture. This indicates that the stone is a joint stone of different rock types.
Unfortunately, this historic temple that has artistic value can only be seen by its ruins. Through these ruins, we can see the reliefs and statues in Simping Temple. Although this temple remains in ruins, every day there are always visitors who come. This may be related to Simping Temple which is the place of worship of Raden Wijaya, the founder of the Majapahit kingdom.
3. Some Examples of Unique Temples - Pari Temple and Sumur Temple
This temple is also a historical heritage of high art. It is said that these two temples do not have reliefs and carvings. These two temples are located next to each other and are located in Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java.
This temple has high artistic value because the stairs from this temple are quite steep, so if you want to climb you have to be careful, and the temple building is still characterized by the typical East Java temple building, which is composed of red bricks.
4. Some Examples of Unique Temples - Ngawen Temple
Ngawen Temple is located 5 km from the Mendut Temple complex, more precisely located in the middle of a rice field area. This temple is also of high artistic value because there are four lion statues in each corner of the temple and in each mouth there is a water pipe. Then, in the middle of the temple there is a Buddha statue that has no head anymore.
To enter this temple area, you do not need to pay a fee, just write your name on the guest list. This temple consists of 5 temples, 3 temples on the west side, and 2 temples on the east side. The atmosphere around the temple which is near the rice fields also supports the beauty of this temple. The first time this temple was discovered was by a man named Hopermans in 1864 from the Netherlands.
5. Some Examples of Unique Temples - Barong Temple
Barong Temple is one of the historic temples that has artistic value because of its unique shape, which is tapering upwards. It is possible that the shape of this temple is associated with its function for the worship of fertility, because the land around it does look barren and less fertile.
Barong temple was built in the IX-X century AD with a Hindu religious background. The location of this temple is not far from Prambanan Temple, precisely in the hills of Candisari Hamlet, Sambirejo Village, Prambanan District, Sleman Regency.
The temple is basically an easy example of history that has high cultural arts. That's because through art, we can learn about beauty, both the beauty of words and the beauty of visuals. While we know that the temple contains so many reliefs that tell about the events of a thing.
Likewise, the sculptures of the statues that are usually in the temples are also beautiful to look at. We feel a sense of satisfaction and admiration when we look at the beauty of each temple. At that time we can conclude that the temple is history as art.
